Staying Fit On The Road
Today, we’re going to learn about one of my role models/close friend. Her name is Olga Polunina and she is the literal definition of a badass. She is an Executive Director at JP Morgan and a fitness junkie. For work, Olga has to travel a lot. Like a lot a lot. I’ve always said she takes flights like Ubers and I’m not even exaggerating. A typical text chain with Olga (pre-covid) would include questions like “Hey Olga, how are you? Where are you today?” Despite all of this traveling (business + pleasure), Olga has transformed her lifestyle and is now one of the fittest people I know!
I’m an investment banker with J.P. Morgan and a core part of my job is building rapport with clients and being a trusted advisor - so in-person meetings are pretty critical to getting hired! I focus on the chemical space, so as you can imagine most of my clients are not in NY - I cover all of the US (a lot in the MidWest and SouthEast), have several clients in Canada and also some in Latin America and Europe.
I don’t really use the term badass lightly and I rarely use it to describe anyone, but Olga is such a badass. Her job is so demanding but I don’t know anyone that better manages their work life balance. It’s very impressive. Each morning, Olga wakes up by doing yoga. Lately, we’ve been loving the Peloton yoga classes with Dennis.
Side note - if you are struggling to workout at home, I cannot recommend the Peloton app enough. The best part is that you don’t even need the bike or tread to do most of these workouts. I was never a big yoga gal until Steph got me a nice Manduka mat for my birthday. It’s still not my favorite workout but I can definitely tell that I feel and recover better on days that I do even just 15 mins of yoga.
I find that in COVID times, we have been given a lot of time back so it’s a bit easier to find time to workout and do other things, but pre-COVID Olga never made excuses either.
For business - I’ve been traveling on average 2-3 days a week (pre-COVID). Which means there have been many weeks I would be on the road Monday - Thursday and can also hit multiple states per day. Also, its very fluid - I typically book work travel 1-10 days in advance, and change flight times on probably one in every 3-4 flights. As Marnie has said in the past, “you take flights like I take Ubers!!!” (she’s not wrong…). On top of this, I also love traveling in my free time, so tack on weekend trips to this and it gets a little crazy. I’ve definitely turned up to work meetings with my lime green ski jacket over a business suit and heels! And I may have also gone directly from a transatlantic flight to a charity gala…
First of all, don’t come for me for taking Ubers like crazy. My Uber Black Diamond status is everything to me. But seriously, I don’t know anyone that flies more than Olga. Maybe a pilot, maaaaaybe. Her schedule honestly stresses me out because it changes so much and I don’t know how she does it. No matter where she is in the world (yes, world), she always manages to get workouts in. Whether that be a Peloton cycling workout in the hotel gym or waking up early to run before her friends wake up, she has proven to herself that she does have time to workout, despite her busy schedule.
Not one second wasted….
Waiting for friends at the airport while catching up on email and giving feedback on decks.
We’re currently in Park City, Utah at her family’s ski house and we were just chatting about how you can tell what is important to people by the way they behave. Clearly, fitness/health/wellbeing is very important to Olga as she makes time for it every single day. She is literally a no excuses kind of person. This chat also led us to the topic of prioritization.
We all have 24 hours in a day and what we choose to do with that time is up to us. Some of us have extremely demanding jobs (not me), some of us have standard 9-5 jobs (also not me), and some of us (me) fall somewhere in the middle. If working out is important to you, you will make time for it. If it’s not, you will make excuses. That’s okay, but just be real with yourself and understand your priorities. You have the power to change them and reprioritize things to align with your goals. No one else is going to do it for you.
I now plan my trips around fitness activities! No joke. I heavily prioritize booking work hotels which have Pelotons in the gym (there is an app to check this!) and where that’s not possible I’ll use a rowing machine or run (Peloton also has outdoor running coaching which is awesome. Yes, I’m addicted. No, you may not judge). I’ll make sure I leave time in the morning or before dinner for a work out and fit it in religiously - even a short 20-30 minute burst really helps. I’ve actually found even after getting off long-haul flights, a 30-minute sprint workout wakes me up a lot better than if I had spent that 30 minutes napping. Personal travel is a lot easier cause a lot of my trips are activity-centric anyway! But incase not, I’ll just wake up in the morning and run - I also really enjoy running in picturesque locations so when I’m in a sightseeing destination I’ll run around tourists, snap a couple of pictures on the way and have some great memories.
I love to travel as well and have been part of Olga’s “activity-centric” trips… To put it in perspective, when we got to Utah this week, Olga booked a court to play tennis every single day, we went on a baby hike/walk the day we landed and other activities planned include paddle boarding, long ass hikes, group workouts and more. We went ATV-ing in the mountains yesterday, which was a workout in itself because those machines are heavy AF, but at the top we were rewarded with amazing views. So no, you don’t have to be Olga-level in love with fitness, but working out daily is great for your physical and mental health (at the right intensities of course). Everyone’s body needs a different kind of fitness plan based on their lifestyle.
All smiles before riding ATVs in the mountains of Utah
Thanks to all of her traveling, Olga has been able to visit so many different places and they are all so unique and special. Her favorite place so far?
There are too many!! Best work trip ever was when I got to go to Buenos Aires for a business meeting and stayed a couple days extra, fell completely in love with the country and have been back twice since to explore more.
Favorite trip with friends - I think this has to be the totally impromptu Ski/Sundance weekend a couple of years ago. My friends Steph, Eileen and I were casually having a Tuesday night drink in celebration of my recent promotion… next thing I know, we had booked flights to Park City, leaving in 3 days! We were there less than 48 hours, managed to fit in 2 full days of skiing, participation in an epic ShotSki, some very chill hot tubbing, a couple of excellent meals and front row seats to Late Night. And so much fun, laughter and friendship! Lets just say I now firmly believe I make my best decisions 2 glasses of sparkling rose in.
What’s next on the Olga Polunina travel bucket list?
OMG so many. I want to hike Torres del Pine in Chile; dive with the sharks in South Africa; see Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe); visit the temples in India and the peaks of the Himalayas; heli-ski in Kamchatka (or maybe Alaska…); learn to surf in Hawaii. And I’m always down to taste champagne in… well, Champagne!
Sign me up for the South Africa trip and obviously the Champagne trip. The world has so much to offer and I cannot recommend that people get out there and explore it. See how other people live and socialize. Try different kinds of foods and cuisines. Do something you’ve never done before. Push yourself outside your comfort zone — you won’t regret it.
Bon voyage, my friends. Thanks for taking time to read about my sweet friend, hope you enjoyed it. Part II will cover how to travel with just a carry on bag and what are the essentials that need to be in there.
